{"id":14742,"date":"2024-01-17T19:26:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T19:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=14742"},"modified":"2024-01-23T15:59:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T15:59:05","slug":"jacques-pepin-still-teaching-generations-to-cook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/winter-2024\/jacques-pepin-still-teaching-generations-to-cook\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacques Pepin … Still Teaching Generations to Cook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carolyn Worthington with Michael Chauner<\/p><\/p>\n

I<\/span>t\u2019s never too late (or early) to be inspired by the latest art and techniques of cooking.<\/p>\n

I recently re-discovered that by coming across the latest book by my favorite chef, Jacques Pepin, entitled \u201cJacques Pepin, Cooking My Way.”<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

One of the things I like most about Jacques Pepin, who just turned 88, is how he exemplifies the spirit of Healthy Aging\u00ae \u2026 He is amazingly energetic. He is passionate about life, friends, family, giving back, and teaching all levels of chefs, from professionals to beginners. Rolling with the times, he continues to adapt his passion to an ever-evolving culinary landscape by releasing a refreshing book that captures today\u2019s need for quality dishes with inexpensive ingredients and limited time.<\/p>\n

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(Left to right) Michael Chauner, Carolyn Worthington, Jacques Pepin.<\/p><\/div>\n

Recently, Michael Chauner and I visited Pepin at his home in Connecticut, where he has lived since 1975, to learn more about his new book and to hear his thoughts on the state of cooking today compared to the 70s and 80s and where it might be going for millennials and the next generations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>First, About Jacques Pepin<\/h3>\n

We wrote extensively about Pepin\u2019s life in a past issue of Healthy Aging\u00ae Magazine<\/em>. Before that, we featured him in our documentary, Healthy Aging\u00ae \u2026 Redefining America<\/a>. You can see the Healthy Aging\u00ae Magazine article here.<\/a><\/p>\n

In summary, Pepin has had a profound influence on modern cuisine. From becoming head chef to French President Charles de Gaulle, Pepin \u201cvisited\u201d the U.S. in 1959, where he has remained to this day. Since then, Pepin honed his craft and developed his talent as a chef, author, TV celebrity, culinary instructor, and even as a painter. He deftly transitioned from cooking for heads of state to teaching the masses over many decades.<\/p>\n

Pepin collaborated with public television station KQED on many of his shows. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the 46th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in 2019.<\/p>\n

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(Clockwise from top left) Julia Child and Jacques Pepin; Jacques Pepin and Helen McCully, House Beautiful food editor; Jacque Pepin, teacher with student at Boston University Culinary Arts Program; Jacques Pepin with students at the International Culinary Center, New York City. Photo: Tom Hopkins<\/p><\/div>\n

Pepin is the winner of 16 James Beard Awards. In 2004, P\u00e9pin was awarded France\u2019s highest distinction, the Legion of Honor. For over 30 years, he has taught at Boston University, where he developed the culinary arts program, BU Food and Wine, along with Julia Child and the program\u2019s founding director, Rebecca Alssid.<\/p>\n

Pepin even offers a 30-hour online course, \u201cJacques Pepin: A Legacy of Technique.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

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Early Jacques Pepin family photo with granddaughter Shorey, son-in-law Rollie Wesen, daughter Claudine, and late wife Gloria. Photo: Tom Hopkins<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2016, Pepin joined forces with his daughter, Claudine, and her husband, Rollie Wesen, to form the Jacque Pepin Foundation. The foundation\u2019s mission is to \u201csupport free culinary and life skills training, through community-based organizations, that helps individuals detached from the workforce gain confidence, skills, and employment in food service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nous sommes tous \u00e9gaux dans les yeux du fourneau.<\/em>\n~ Jacques P\u00e9pin<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all equal in the eyes of the stove,\u201d Pepin says on the Foundation website.<\/p>\n

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Some of the cookbooks written by Jacques Pepin<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to Cooking My Way<\/em>, he has authored over 30 cookbooks, including Essential Pepin,<\/em> a culinary bible featuring over 700 of his best recipes.<\/p>\n

Pepin has constantly adapted and updated his work to suit the modern chef better, who \u201cmust usually rely on one or two supermarkets to buy everything for a meal, in addition to the changes in many products\u2019 availability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While all his cookbooks champion cooking economically (both financially and to save time), Pepin has continued making cooking more accessible to the masses with each new work he publishes. \u201cThe Fast Food My Way<\/em>\u201d books are a great example and excellent precursors to his latest: \u201cJacques Pepin, Cooking My Way<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the times continue to change in a culture that has been losing its grip on the family cooking tradition. The younger population now spends less time enjoying the preparation and art of the cooking process and more on finding enough time to squeeze in a meal or enough money to pay for a long list of ingredients.<\/p>\n

As Millennials and now Gen Z are out on their own and starting new families, many sadly rely on meal kits or meal prep services and takeout premade food from the store or one simple recipe to be made in bulk to last for the week.<\/p>\n

Pepin always seems to be at the right place at the right time to impart his latest version of what\u2019s trending in the kitchen. I know this from my own experience of first meeting him a long time ago.<\/p>\n

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Experiences in France as a result of advice from Jacques Pepin (Clockwise from top left) .Pastry chef demonstrating ice carving at Plaza Athenee, circa 1972. Chefs in Plaza Athenee kitchen. Le Cordon Bleu exterior, Paris. Carolyn Worthington as “observatrice” in pastry shop, Lyon, France.<\/p><\/div>\n

Meeting Monsieur Pepin<\/h3>\n

It happened when I was twenty years old, about to graduate from college, and full of enthusiasm to forge a career that combined my interest in writing, photography, and food. I thought that maybe the place to start was to learn the art and techniques of cooking.<\/p>\n

On a commuter train into New York, I read an article in the New York Times about a chef named Jacques P\u00e9pin, who had worked for former French President Charles de Gaulle and who was about to open the \u201cfirst soup and salad restaurant\u201d in the United States\u2014right here on Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n

Perhaps naively, I hurried from Grand Central Station to La Potagerie and knocked on the door at 9 AM to see if this French chef could answer my question: \u201cShould I go to cooking school in France?\u201d<\/p>\n

A sympathetic and charming young man unlocked the restaurant\u2019s glass door on Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust wondering,\u201d I asked, \u201cDo you think I should go to cooking school to learn how to cook and become a food writer?<\/p>\n

He invited me in, and we talked about the art and business of cooking. His advice? Yes, go, but learn the techniques of cooking by being an \u201cobservatrice\u201d at the Plaza Athenee Hotel in Paris, where he had worked.<\/p>\n

And so I did. See the full story here<\/a><\/p>\n

That chance meeting and his advice are a classic example of how influential one can be to a younger person!<\/p>\n

While those words of encouragement from Pepin were ones that I now know he has shared with numerous others, they were not lost on me. His advice helped launch me into the world of culinary communication for many years before creating Healthy Aging\u00ae multi-media. I have often featured and referred to his life, videos, and recipes since that first encounter.<\/p>\n

When I remind him of the moment, he politely smiles and probably thinks, \u201cDid I say that, and did she actually do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jacques Pepin at home. Photo: Tom Hopkins<\/p><\/div>\n

Jacques Pepin Today<\/h3>\n

Flash forward to 2020, when Americans found themselves stuck at home during COVID, struggling economically, and looking for creative ways to stay motivated.<\/p>\n

Never one to be complacent and always with a positive outlook, Jacques Pepin thought, \u201cWhat can I do from here?\u201d And so he decided to work with his small production team headed by long-time photographer, videographer, friend, and neighbor Tom Hopkins<\/a> to film mini, easy-to-do recipe and technique demonstrations from his kitchen at home. Pepin began to release them on Facebook and Instagram for the public to try.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a devastating time for people. It brought some people together but tore many apart. So there seemed to be nothing better to do.\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what else to do in life but teach.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it turns out that he was right. During that time, Pepin released over three hundred, three-to-six-minute cooking clips that grew his Facebook page from 300,000 followers to a whopping (and still growing) 1.8 million. Undoubtedly, many of those followers are Millennials and Gen-Zers.<\/p>\n

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Gaston and Jacques. Photos: C.Worthington<\/p><\/div>\n

Visiting Jacques Pepin<\/h3>\n

Pepin lives in a quintessential Connecticut town, with the friendly warmth that is likely reminiscent of his birthplace in France. His home, too, evokes an inviting European aura, with an unassuming driveway and courtyard entry that modestly feeds into his front hallway that is filled from floor to ceiling with framed photos captured through the years \u2026 dedications to his wife, his daughter and granddaughter \u2026 special moments from the past.<\/p>\n

While humble and unboastful, his home overflows with character and sentiment that matches Jacques\u2019 demeanor almost perfectly.<\/p>\n

Pepin\u2019s kitchen is filled with charm and quality rather than flash, and its view overlooks a pleasant green yard rich with his fond family memories. Herbs, spices, and utensils decorate his counters that hold over 300 various knives, backdropped by a great wall of pans showcasing all his favorites, from copper to non-stick. Although the look and feel are cozy and homelike, you can certainly tell that it\u2019s the kitchen of a great chef!<\/p>\n

His little black, curly-haired dog, Gaston, provides the perfect accent to the whole scene, who ran to greet Michael and me upon our arrival as if to say, \u201cBe our guest!\u201d<\/p>\n

The welcoming, twinkle-eyed, and often humorous Jacques Pepin invited us to sit with him at his kitchen table, which is surrounded by pieces of French Provincial furniture, collections of painted plates in rows on the walls, and family photos.<\/p>\n

With Gaston falling asleep on his lap, Jacques chuckled and took us through his culinary journey. He explained how technique, practicality, and economy have characterized his teaching and writing philosophy rather than the need to blow away guests with complex food art or showcase the rarest possible ingredients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a time and place for that. There are many chefs nowadays who are producing amazing things. But ultimately, every five-star restaurant will be liked by one person and not the next. Taste is a subjective thing,\u201d Pepin said.<\/p>\n

Pepin spoke about what seemed to be the pinnacle summation of his career as a chef when he published \u201cThe Art of Cooking<\/em>\u201d in 1987 as an example. The book is rich with impressive (and sometimes difficult) recipes and techniques, from filleting a skate wing to preparing a leg of veal to boning a frog to make La Grenouille. It featured over 3,000 photos, walking the reader through the details of each meticulous technique.<\/p>\n

While Pepin described the book as probably his best work as it was the product of his most carefully articulated recipes developed throughout his career, he said it ironically sold perhaps the least.<\/p>\n

But Pepin understood that the ordinary American amateur cook is usually pressed for time and intimidated by the prospect of boning a chicken or fileting a rabbit, let alone butchering one! And it was after that point when he began to tune his recipes for the everyday cook to enjoy at home.<\/p>\n

We asked Pepin what he would recommend to the timid first-time chef or someone intimidated to cook for others. His advice: \u201cGo to a friend\u2019s house who likes to cook and arrive an hour early. Bring a bottle of wine and ask if you can help. And even if the chicken doesn\u2019t get cooked, who cares? You still drink the wine and have a good time!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jacques Pepin in his art studio. Photo: C. Worthington<\/p><\/div>\n

Always an Artist<\/h3>\n

Pepin then led us on a tour of his sunny and colorful upstairs art studio, inserting funny quips along the way, where a grand, pale-blue bookcase displays his vast reference library of art and landscape books that inspire his paintings and menus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started painting menus years ago when I had guests. I would write down what I served, the names of the guests, and even the wine. I would give them a copy of the menu as a gift,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Taking his menu artwork a step further, Pepin created a book of more than 75 themed blank menus with borders, Menus: A Book for Your Meals and Memories.<\/a><\/p>\n

Opposite each menu for you to write on is a blank page labeled \u201cLes Invit\u00e9s\u201d that serves as a guestbook for attendees of parties or gatherings to sign. A brilliant way to cherish memories with friends and family and something that I have often done within my own cookbooks!<\/p>\n

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Jacques Pepin making Michael Chauner an honorary Happy Cooking member<\/p><\/div>\n

While Pepin is a \u201ccelebrity chef\u201d in our minds, he differs from today\u2019s many iconic TV chefs who promote their restaurant empires or push sponsored products to their audiences. Pepin has always remained true to himself and has risen to popularity because of his desire and teaching skills, all done with down-to-earth graciousness, charm, and humor.<\/p>\n

And he makes it tough for his guests to part without gifts, as he affixed an official Jacques Pepin Foundation apron upon Michael on our exit, a memory that he will always cherish.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJacques Pepin, Cooking My Way\u201d<\/h3>\n

His newest book, \u201cJacques Pepin, Cooking My Way<\/em>,\u201d embodies his overall reader-first philosophy and runs in the spirit of his quick-and-simple social media recipes, featuring simple, cost-effective recipes that use inexpensive and minimal ingredients but still \u201cfit for a king\u201d as he has jested in one of his videos.<\/p>\n

His latest work is something for all generations to enjoy and could serve as the perfect gateway for a first-time cook to enter the culinary world free of intimidation.<\/p>\n

The book, Pepin said, is really an extension of the \u201cCuisine Economique<\/em>\u201d column he wrote for The New York Times<\/em>. \u201c\u2026sometimes it is difficult for a beginner cook to grasp this principle of economy,\u201d Pepin said. \u201cbut the more you know about food, the better you understand; the more you cook, the faster and more efficient your cooking will get; and the more you familiarize with basic ingredients and basic technique, the easier it gets to prepare a meal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book has over 150 recipes, from soups, salads, and eggs to side dishes, main dishes, and desserts. Pepin includes menus for all seasons embedded on pages with whimsical borders of flowers, vegetables, and chickens he painted in his studio and ending with his signature phrase, \u201cHappy Cooking.\u201d You can also find some of the book\u2019s recipes demonstrated on his social media channels.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, some recipes are for just one or two servings. I asked Pepin about that. \u201cAs I was preparing the recipes for the book, it occurred to me that as I got older, I was not always cooking for larger groups. In fact, I might even be at home alone,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I included some recipes with smaller servings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t cook the way I did in the 70s, but the techniques are the same, and some ingredients are different,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a recipe in the book that I use for veal, but veal nowadays is impossible to find at the market. So, I use an inexpensive cut of turkey instead, and it\u2019s perfectly fine and delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each recipe has an introduction, which you should not skip over \u2026 you will pick up little cooking tips and see more into Jacques Pepin\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n

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Photos: Tom Hopkins<\/p><\/div>\n

Two of our favorite recipes are\u00a0Grilled Cod with Olives<\/a> and Sweet and Spicy Curried Chicken<\/a><\/p>\n

And, as Pepin says at the close of each video and in his writings \u2026<\/p>\n

Happy Cooking!<\/em><\/p>\n

Carolyn Worthington is publisher of Healthy Aging\u00ae multi-media. At Jacques Pepin\u2019s advice, when she graduated college, she attended Le Cordon Bleu and worked as an \u201cobservatrice\u201d in the Plaza Athenee, Paris. Worthington never fulfilled her goal of being a New York Times<\/em> food writer. Instead, she worked for a food consulting agency writing food articles, photographing recipes, and appearing on television as a spokesperson. Worthington ran a television production company producing documentaries for public television, many on food topics. She now publishes Healthy Aging\u00ae, encouraging people to follow their dreams and, of course, to cook.<\/h5>\n
Michael Chauner is a writer, international cyclist, coach, and competition director for a new indoor cycling league. Throughout his 20-year cycling career, he competed on teams in Sweden, Canada, and the Netherlands. He raced professionally throughout Europe, where he developed a love of the culture and cuisine of the countries he visited, particularly French cuisine. Michael recently covered cycling in Tenerife<\/a> for Healthy Aging\u00ae<\/em> and was excited to meet and write about Jacque Pepin, who has been an inspiration for him.<\/h5>\n

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Subscriber login page photo: Tom Hopkins<\/h5>\n
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